31 Days, 39 Sessions - July Report

July was a crazy month with lots of firsts. I played 39 sessions in 31 days, only taking one day off completely without poker. I played in the highest stake of my life. Won the biggest session of my career. Saw the biggest cash game pot ever with my own eyes.

I am pretty proud of myself to have the stamina and passion to play so many sessions in this period. I am also very happy I can now comfortably move up stakes and make more money doing the same amount of work. However I am also very aware that I am not playing my best game in the higher stakes but I hope to grind it out and continually adjust. Eventually if I can run my bankroll up I will be more comfortable and be able to pick the right spots.

Let it grow, let it grow, can't hold it back anymore...

Surprisingly though my win-rate was not as high as I thought. I won 20 sessions and lost 19 sessions. Unlike previous months I had a much higher win/loss ratio but one thing I improved on was keeping losing session amounts low and winning session amounts high. A lot of it also had to do with great timing (by chance) and also running good at key games. Twice I had quads this month and I got paid big both times.

Enough about poker. Keeping to my word, I eventually found a good charity that I can get on board with. Cambodia Children's Fund is a well respected, transparent NGO that has done great things to help the needy. They provide housing, health care, child care, education, food and security for hundreds of kids at a time. They celebrated their 15th anniversary this year with their first cohort graduating from University after they were rescued from the dump sites of Phnom Penh while they were little kids.

The kids were laughing and having a great time going to school

I had the opportunity to visit a few of their facilities and I am amazed how far they have come. Kids not only have a safe environment to study and play, but they also have access to opportunities they would never have dreamed of. A few of them received scholarships to study overseas, participate in international events, learn skills that can set them up for life. Some facilities are better than the public schools in the region. The kids were really friendly and cute. I didn't want to take their photos because I wasn't sure of the culture here. But they would come up and say hi, wave or smile. Without NGOs like CCF, they would have been vulnerable to physical and sexual abuse, left alone uneducated, having to work to support the family, some kidnapped or sold off by human traffickers, some will starve or die from sickness.

Scott Neeson the founder was a Hollywood marketing executive but when he came to Cambodia he was moved by what he saw and founded CCF to make a difference. He was travelling between Hollywood and Cambodia at the time trying to make both work. One time he arrived in Phnom Penh and was brought to see three kids suffering from typhoid. He did what he could but they did not make it. Almost at the same time, he got a call from an unnamed Hollywood actor complaining about how he's suffering because the Xbox on the private jet was not the correct version and he couldn't play his games. Scott then quit his job and focused on CCF full time. That story almost brought me to tears.

Clinic, maternal care, nursery, dental care, food canteen, school, housing, you name it.

Anyway, my donation is a small amount compared to the support they get from all over the world, but I am proud to have contributed to this meaningful organization and cause. Hopefully in the coming months I will continue to do well and be able to support CCF even more.